U.S. Pat. No. B2-9,287,982 introduces provision automatization by storing in the optical network unit (ONU) subscriber recognition information. This data has been previously provided by the network operator and it is introduced in the ONU by the subscriber. The ONU uses this information to connect to the network.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,774,629 is similar to the previous patent as it is based on the ONU capability to authenticate itself to the network. It is also quite similar to the mechanism currently implemented to connect FTTH customers, as ONU and optical liner terminal (OLT) ports are “paired”.
US20070274720 proposes a mechanism to “lock” an ONU to an OLT port by using an identification mechanism based on a code that it is provided by the fiber technician.
US20120294613 introduces a mobile device that can register the information of the ONU (e.g. using RFID) and upload it to the provision system, which will register the ONU with the corresponding OLT port.
EP2887566A1 uses RFID tags to acquire the information required to connect the ONU to the network, streamlining the provision process.
Previously described references provide means to streamline the registration of the ONU with a given OLT port. However, they do not authenticate the user, but the ONU device itself. Additionally, existing registration procedures are limited and do not provide enhanced interactions with the user, such as enabling the customer to activate and deactivate FTTH service on-line or the modification of the service in real time.
All previous references authenticate the ONU in the network, but none of them authenticate the customer, thus requiring a registration of the equipment both the first time the service is activated and whenever the ONU is changed. On the contrary, present invention authenticates the user, so (s)he can activate the service and change or replace the ONU which was originally used to provision the service just by authenticating herself/himself in the subscriber portal, as the proposed method will automatically register the ONU used by the customer when he connected to the subscriber portal (this way, the ONU can be discovered during the process and included in the inventory systems once provisioning is successfully completed).
None of the prior art solutions provides connectivity until the FTTH service is fully provisioned and active. Therefore, the customer requires an alternative connection (e.g. mobile) or visiting a store to subscribe to the services. Instead, the proposed solution uses the already available FTTH network terminal connection to enable access to a walled garden where customers or non-customers can subscribe or activate services.
Furthermore, the customer would be able to take its ONU to a different location with FTTH access and be recognized by the BSS/OSS and their configuration be recovered and instantiated at the new location.